Remembering the Past
by j3mm4nn
Summary: When Harry takes Ginny out for their 25th Anniversary, he stumbles across a face from his past and all he can do his close his eyes and remember... HP/GW - past HP/CD


**Remembering the Past**

Harry smiled to himself and checked for the thousandth time that night that the little box was still in his pocket. It was his and Ginny's 25th wedding anniversary, and he was planning on giving her an eternity ring. If there was one thing he was sure of it was this. He loved her, more than anything else in the entire world, and he was planning on spending the rest of his life with her.

"May I take your coat, madam?" The young waiter asked Ginny. She was impressed; you didn't get this service everywhere. She thanked the man, who quickly showed them to their seats. Ginny smiled at Harry and blushed. She'd been with him for nearly 30 years, and when he looked at her he still her made her feel like the young school girl who'd had a crush on him all those years ago. They were shown to their seats and Harry looked around. He smiled to himself. The walls were covered in old newspaper articles from years gone by. He saw his young self in many of them. Smiling, crying, photos he'd never even realised were taken. There were famous bands, and there was Albus Dumbledore. He nudged Ginny and pointed. She smiled sadly. It had been a long time since their old headmaster had died, but she remembered his passing as if it was yesterday. Harry squeezed her arm.

"I miss him too." He whispered, delicately.

That was when he noticed. There, directly behind Ginny was an article relating to the Triwizard tournament and Cedric Diggory's face was beaming down at him. His world froze. It had been a long time since he had seen that face, and he closed his eyes to stop the sole tear from falling. In his head, he remembered...

So many people, everyone, thought that Harry was inconsolable because he had witnessed the return of Voldemort. Yes, he was upset for Cedric's death, but Harry didn't know him that well. He was two years older, completely different house. The only thing they had in common was their love of Quidditch and the fact they were both competing in the Triwizard tournament. How little did they know?

It all started when Harry told Cedric about the dragons. Cedric had questioned why. Harry had responded with kissing Cedric. Only a light kiss, so that their lips only just met, but the electricity that passed between them was intense and Cedric was hardly going to leave it at that. He pulled Harry towards him, and kissed him as passionately as he could possibly muster. Harry had thought the world was going to crumble beneath him. He had dreamt of this day for a long time, but for it to be actually happening? That was another matter entirely.

They kept their arrangement secret, it would only cause for gossip. However, in time their lust for each other grew into something more. Each knew they loved the other, but neither would admit the truth. They were scared. This wasn't meant to happen. Cedric had a girlfriend; a girl Harry was meant to be smitten with. Little did everyone know it was Cedric he was staring at, not Cho. Both of them knew they could never be officially together. The wizarding world would never accept that Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, was in love with a man. It didn't matter though. When they were together they ruled the world, and they were invincible.

Cedric took great delight in informing Harry how to open the golden egg. He also took great delight in joining him in the amazing bathroom. That was the night their love was made official. Harry was positively glowing the next day. Hermione suspected something, but Harry managed to convince it was because he'd finally worked out how the egg's secret. He still wasn't sure if she truly believed him. When Cedric died she'd hugged him that little bit too tight, and whispered,

"I'm so sorry, Harry," in his ear. He'd always thought Hermione was too clever for her own good. Yet, she'd never said anything, not even to Ron, and he knew she never would. For that, he was thankful.

The day of the final task was the worst day of his life. He didn't know it at the time. The day had started with Cedric wishing Harry all the luck in the world and promising him that, as soon as the tournament was over, they would spend a week together. They'd go on holiday, just them. They'd escape from the world, go somewhere no one would recognise them and enjoy each other's company out in the open, rather than behind locked doors. The day had started with Harry being hopeful for the future. The day had started with Harry feeling happy. He still couldn't believe how much had changed in the space of that one single day.

When they'd arrived at the trophy together neither of them could believe their luck. They'd both agreed that they'd try their best, let the best man win. Now, they could win together. Let the best men win. Harry couldn't have wished for more. He kissed Cedric.

"This is for us." He whispered. "We will be together. If only for that one week we talked about. I love you."

It was the first time either of them had said it out loud, and it shocked them both.

"I love you too" Cedric replied, running his hands through Harry's hair. "Now, let's do this."

Harry nodded.

"One, two, three..."

Harry and Cedric grabbed the trophy, and the familiar feel of being dragged upwards surrounded them, as the portkey transported them away.

"Kill the spare..." The words echoed in Harry's head, the flash of green light blinded him. The love of his life was dead.

Everything after that moment was a complete blur. The following months went by, and he felt as if he was on the moon. His body was on Earth, his body was going about its day to day tasks, but his mind was somewhere else completely. Lost in space. He'd never felt so numb in his entire life. All he wanted was to see Cedric again. All he wanted was to hold Cedric in his arms, and tell him everything would be ok. All he wanted was to go back to the start, to take the trophy by himself but he knew that would never be possible. He had to move on. He had to forget...

"Harry? Harry?"

"Huh?" He shook himself out of his daydream, and looked at Ginny confused.

"Harry? Are you ok? You had me worried there."

"Sorry." He replied, quietly. "Just... " He nodded behind her.

She turned round and sighed. Cedric Diggory. He thought no one knew about their relationship, but Ginny Weasley had a crush on Harry long enough to know the signs. There was no mistaking the love between, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. To this day, Harry still thought it was secret.  
"The world's worst secret." She thought to herself, but despite this she knew Harry loved her. A different love to that he gave Cedric, this love was forever.

"I love you." She said. "I'm sorry you had to remember your past. Today of all days."

"I love you too, and the past is the past. I've been married to you for 25 years, and they've been the happiest years of my life." She knew he was being sincere and smiled, noticing the small square package in front of her.

"What's this?"

"Open it and see." He laughed.

They sat in silence as Ginny unwrapped the small box. Looking down at the ring that sat inside, a tear fell down her cheek. It was gold with 5 jewels sitting on it. Alternate rubies and yellow sapphire. Red and gold: the colours of Gryffindor, which would always hold a special place in their hearts.

"I love you, Harry Potter. Thank you so much."

He leant across the table and kissed her. Sitting back down, he kicked himself for dreaming about the past. He was happy with Ginny, he loved Ginny, and he would be with Ginny always. Cedric was a moment in his life a long time ago and although, at the time, he loved him, the love he had for Ginny and their three children would never compare.

"Here's to another 25 years" He said, grinning at her.

"Most definitely!" She smiled back.


End file.
